Every game is a final for Xavi and Barcelona
Barça must put the cup euphoria on hold until April 5 and focus on La Liga. The second leg of the semi-final against Madrid is a month away, an impasse that the Blaugrana must take advantage of to seal the league championship. First, by beating Valencia this afternoon and Athletic next Sunday before the decisive clash against Madrid at the Camp Nou. These three games are absolutely crucial to deciding the title race. If the Blaugrana get nine points, they will be champions. After the unacceptable slip-up in Almeria, Barça's lead over Ancelotti's side has been significantly reduced. But it is still enough (7 points) to be able to manage the gap in what's left of the league campaign. In any case, as Xavi acknowledged yesterday, the moment of truth has arrived.
Every game will be a final. And the pressure will increase. Until it becomes, perhaps, unbearable. It is the moment to temper the nerves and to understand what it means to play for Barça. The epic triumph at the Bernabéu is already in the past. All that matters is the present (this afternoon's clash at the Camp Nou against a Valencia side on the brink of the abyss) and the more immediate future. The absentees (Pedri, Dembélé and Lewandowski through injury and Gavi through suspension) will force the Blaugrana coach to improvise a XI without key players. He already had to do so against Madrid and the result was spectacular. Not so much the game, something that Xavi himself acknowledged after the game and that this Saturday he took on board again after the criticism received from those around him: "Barça is the most complicated club in the world. It's not enough just to win, you have to convince".
This Barça, which has doubly disappointed in Europe (first in the Champions League and then in the Europa League), needs to win titles that endorse the project and bring peace of mind while the construction of the team is ongoing. Laporta's 'all or nothing' gamble has been as brave as it is dangerous. Because it forces the Blaugrana team to be champions despite not being absolutely consolidated. It is necessary to take advantage of the extraordinary performance in La Liga and the Copa to secure a double that would be, without a doubt, a certificate of patience for all Barcelonistas. Win to be able to grow. Put aside the doubts generated against Almeria to achieve a convincing victory against Valencia. It is the only possible way to claim the resurrection.
